"And frankly, most of my favorites throughout the state are NOT class A, many are class C or D, officially. But those classes aren't a great representation of what's happening out there."

And frankly, nobody is arguing that here and frankly whether a stream is CLASS A, B, OR C it is a much better representation of the number of trout that can be found in a stream compared to the natural reproduction list. I think we also have to take into account the years that the streams were surveyed as well. I have found the natural reproduction list to be useless on countless occasions.

Yes, I'll clarify it. Yes, if a stream is on the wilderness trout stream list, you can indeed tell what class it is. However, a tiny percentage of wild trout streams are on that list.

So, if you had an actual class B list, there'd be a ton of streams on it. Only a small handful would also be found on the wilderness trout stream list.

EVERYTHING on the natural reproduction list is class A, B, C, or D. For me, anyway, it's the most useful list. That's not to say that it doesn't have any duds on it. It does. And it's not to say I don't also utilize the class A and wilderness trout stream lists. I do.

What you refer to as a "tiny percentage" of streams on the wilderness trout streams list adds up to approximately 103 streams. 103 streams in Pennsylvania published and designated as either Class A, B, C, D as well as Wilderness Trout Streams list is a pretty good number of streams that are published. C'mon don't make me spell it out... it's getting tiring. It's like debating whether a car is gold or yellow. Who gives a crap enough to call someone out on that?

"There are over 3000 streams in PA that are class B, C, or D. 103 of them are on the wilderness stream list. I call that a tiny %."

Doesn't matter to me... you said that they don't publish a list of class B, C, D streams. Well they do that through the wilderness trout streams section. Though the percentage is tiny it is published and it is a list nonetheless and excuse me but 103 streams is enough to keep most anglers busy for a lifetime. The car is yellow.

103 is a decent number of streams. And to be fair, every stream I've fished on the wilderness list has been worthwhile. If you're looking for a reliable list, where you can be fairly sure that those streams are worthwhile and open to the public, it is a good one to use.

But it's nowhere near complete. There are so many streams that are worthwhile that are not on this list, nor the class A list. And the thread is about Chester County, where the majority of streams fit this description. 103 still leaves many areas where you might be as much as an hour away from the nearest.

I'm not a Chester Cty expert. Too new to the area and I haven't had much time to explore since I've been here. I need to change that. But I'm comfortable in saying that VC is not the only worthwhile wild trout opportunity in the area.

P.S. I used to use that site. It's basically the natural repro list put onto a map. And the PFBC has now done that on a google maps type map which I find more user friendly.

Do you use that site often and find a lot of it to be accurate? I haven't used it much.

I don't use it that often because I pretty much have PA's wild trout streams memorized, but I do find it to be accurate. I've mostly used it to find trouty waters outside of PA. It's a compilation of info one can find elsewhere, just all in one place. What the site did was take a jpeg of class B, C, and D streams the PFC published in 2010 and overlay it onto a Google Earth map. It's not great, but still may be useful.

Only about two thirds or less of the wild trout streams in chester county are on the NR list. Valley is by far the best and the only legit class A. The northern half of the county has the best public access to other wild trout streams but the streams are not that great and mostly hold a few small wild browns. If you know where to look you can find several decent (but not great) brookie streams that are not on the list. They don't compare to mountain brookie streams but can still be a lot of fun to fish. Unfortunately, private property is an issue on these brookie streams, but as mentioned before it can't hurt to ask permission if you think a posted stream looks "trouty".

I'm in Chester County but in the northern tier near Berks and there are a few to be found north and west of Elverson, based on the PFBC lists of streams harboring trout-like fishies. I live very close to an exceptional value stream but the only trout that ever live in there are stocked, of which there are a few (and far between). It is a mystery to me why there are no natives.

Nick, The wilderness Trout Streams list is very different from the Class b, c, & d lists. Yes they publish the Class, but the Class B list has nearly 1000 streams on it. So using the Wilderness list while helpful doesn't answer the question you're asking.

I can't answer the O.P.'s question except to say that there are loads of good trout streams in nearby Berks County. Try there.

Posted on: 2012/8/29 21:37

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The object of a resource is to use and reuse a resource, not to use it up, have we learned nothing in over 125 years of stocking?